Samantha Urbani (/ərˈbɑːni/ ər-BAH-nee; born September 18, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter, visual artist, filmmaker and producer from Mystic, Connecticut.
The Urbani children were homeschooled by their mother, an experience Samantha recalls fondly, "She taught us about whatever we wanted to learn.
[5] From a young age, Urbani showed interest in music and the visual arts, spending much of her time painting, making interactive mixed media sculpture, and singing along to the radio.
[6] After graduating Robert E. Fitch Senior High School, Urbani took three years off to drive around the United States and travel before eventually settling in Brooklyn.
[1] Urbani describes herself as a lifelong music obsessive, but was shy at first to sing in front of people or share any of the songs she had written.
[9] In contrast to much of the music coming out of Brooklyn at the time, Friends put an emphasis on genre defying experimentation, vocal virtuosity, and an appreciation for pop hooks.
[5]" The band's shows were characterized by an unhinged eclecticism, high energy musical performance, off kilter covers, Urbani's feline intensity and gift for getting the audience involved.
Urbani performed for the album's support tour, notably at Lollapalooza, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
[15] Urbani also lent vocals to Hynes's soundtrack of Gia Coppola's film Palo Alto[16] as well as to other tracks and performances of his during this period.
[17][18] The reissue of the album was supported by a cover compilation that included Ariel Pink and Puro Instinct, Connan Mockasin, Zoë Kravitz, Nite Jewel, and Urbani herself.
[19][20][21] In 2014, Urbani cofounded a queer supergroup called Slink featuring Seth Bogart of Hunx and His Punx and Cody Critcheloe of Ssion.
Urbani has contributed vocals to tracks by Twin Shadow[23] and Doldrums,[24] and Felicita, Danny L Harle and Sophie.
[35] Urbani described her intentions as a solo artist in a 2016 interview stating, "It's different in that Friends was an isolated group of five people, whereas this is me being a vessel of integrating whoever I want at whatever times.
It’s fun for it to be a sort of ongoing conceptual project where they say 'Hey, do you wanna play a UO [showcase] at SXSW,' [and I say] 'Yes, but how am I going to make that interesting?'
Urbani is outspoken in interviews as well as onstage on topics of equality, race, sexuality, gender, identity politics, and the destigmatization of mental illness.